The Scrapbook
by SheeWolf85
Summary: Written for the 2012 Secret Santa Fic Swap for TwiCharmed. Nessie is tending her niece one evening when the little girl asks about a scrapbook on the shelf. Together they look through the book and Ness shares the memories with her niece. Paul/Ness, Oneshot, AH/AU, T for brief language.


A/N: This story was written for the 2012 Secret Santa Fic Swap for TwiCharmed. She mentioned in her likes that she wanted to read a Paul/Nessie wolf story where Paul imprints on a grown Nessie. As you may already know, I am a hardcore Jake/Ness shipper, so it was a little difficult to imagine Paul with her at first. It's still a little strange thinking about him imprinting on her. Sadly, I couldn't make inspiration work with me enough to produce a wolfy story that involved Ness but not Jake. Maybe this all-human interpretation will inspire others to branch out to Paul/Ness and someone out there will write what she is really craving.

Thank you so much to ReneeFF, WolfGirl1335, and Nat_Gis for pre-reading this. Enjoy!

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The Scrapbook

"Aunt Ness, what is this?" Mina asked.

Mina wasn't technically my niece, but I'd known her mother since I was a kid and we considered ourselves sisters. I was watching her for a while so her mother could do some Christmas shopping. She was the spitting image of her mother with her shoulder-length black hair, tanned skin, and dark eyes. Both Mina and Leah were high-spirited girls who let nothing get in their way. Leah had told me often how much time and hassle I saved her by being Mina's babysitter, but I never considered it doing any favors. I loved the girl like she was my own daughter, and I would do anything to help out Leah and her husband, Trevor.

I looked over to see Mina had pulled one of my scrapbooks off the shelf and was looking through it. I was a little nervous that her five-year-old fingers would accidentally rip a page, so I asked her to bring it to me carefully. It was the first of two scrapbooks to come out of a year obsessed with keepsakes and chronicling memories. Much to my mother's dismay, I had inherited my Grandmother Renee's fickle passion for all things crafty, intelligent, or interesting. I reminded her on occasion that I had a longer attention span than Grandma did.

I pulled Mina up on to my lap and put my hand on the cover of the scrapbook. "This is a very special book," I said with wonder in my voice. Mina looked up at me with her big, dark eyes like I was telling her the secret of the universe. "It's a memory book. Do you know what that means?"

She stared at me blankly for a moment. "Is it a book that holds memories?" she asked. She sounded like she wasn't sure.

I nodded. "That's exactly what it is. Do you want to see what's inside?"

She nodded fervently. "Yes! Is Uncle Paul in it?"

I smiled. "Yes, of course he is."

She bounced a little on my lap. I hissed and tightened my hand on her waist. "Oh, honey, you can't do that. You have to be careful of Aunt Ness' tummy."

She went still immediately. "Ooh, sorry."

"It's okay." I kissed her head and opened the book.

Like the classes had taught me, I started the book with some of my earliest memories. On the first page was a picture my mother had taken. Two kids sat on a beach playing in the sand together. The girl was four years old. She was in a dark blue bathing suit with her curly auburn hair pulled up in a high, wild pony tail. She held a shovel in one hand and a stick in the other. The boy was a few years older and in green swimming trunks. He was showing her how to build a proper sand castle.

"Who are they?" Mina asked. "She has the same color hair as you." She turned on my lap and touched my pony tail.

I smiled and nodded. "Yep, she does. That's because that's me."

Her eyes grew wide. "Wow, really? How old were you?"

"I was four years old. And this boy right here," I tapped the boy in the picture, "is your Uncle Paul. He was seven years old. This was the first time we met on First Beach." As I looked at the picture, I told Mina about that day.

_I didn't really want to go to the beach. I liked the water and all, but the beach was big and there was so much water and it was all a little scary. Mom held me on her lap and told me we'd have a lot of fun. One of Grandpa Charlie's friends was going to be there with some other people from the Quileute reservation. There would be other kids for me to play with. I didn't want to play with other kids. I wanted to curl up with my mom and snuggle all day._

_There was no getting out of it. It was an event that had been planned months in advance. We met Grandpa Charlie's friend Harry and his wife Sue, along with a bunch of other kids. Some were older than me and others younger. I tried to hide behind Mom until a girl my age came up to me and took my hand._

"_Hi, my name's Leah. What's your name?"_

_I swallowed. "Nessie."_

_Leah smiled a wide, toothy grin. "Come on, Nessie. Come play." She tugged on my hand. I looked back at Mom to see her smiling and waving at me._

_It took no time at all to forget about being afraid. Leah showed me all the fun things there were to do on the beach, like collect sea shells and make mud pies. She was showing me how to make a sand castle when her dad called her name. She skipped away, leaving me to figure it out on my own. I was patting some sand in place when a shadow fell over my work._

"_You're doing it the hard way," a voice said._

_I looked up to see a boy standing by me. He crouched down and took the pail to fill it with sand. As he did, he spouted off specific instructions for building something worthwhile. I picked up a twig to make a flag stick out of the top. _

"_I'm Nessie," I told him. "What's your name?"_

"_I'm Paul. What kind of name is 'Nessie'?"_

_I frowned. "It's a good name. My real name is Renesmee, but everyone calls me Nessie."_

_He shook his head. "They're both stupid names."_

_My feelings were hurt in an instant. "You're stupid." I stood up and threw the shovel at him and ran away._

Mina giggled. "You didn't love him right away?"

I shook my head. "No, I didn't. For years, I thought he was a jerk and a butthead. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I thought he might be different."

I turned a few pages and told her about each picture. Our house in Seattle where I lived with my mom and dad, the small house in Forks where Grandpa Charlie lived and the big mansion, as I liked to call it, where my Grandma Esme and Grandpa Carlisle lived. There were pictures of Easter with Leah and me in matching dresses, slumber parties with Leah, and Christmases after Leah's brother Seth was born where we all stood around decorating a massive tree. Mina thought it was hilarious to see pictures of her mom so young.

Toward the middle of the book, we came across one of my favorite pictures. I was sixteen years old and dressed in a pale blue dress. I stood next to a very tall Paul who was dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans. He had his arm around my waist and my head was resting against his shoulder. We were both smiling serenely at the camera.

"When was that?" Mina asked.

I smiled. "That was the night Paul and I decided we kinda liked each other."

_I held my boyfriend's hand as we walked into the party. Connor was nice enough to hold the door for me, but he pushed my back harder than he needed to. I scowled to myself but tried to let it go. This was an important day for Emily. It was her eighteenth birthday party. Her boyfriend Sam was glued to her side as always. I looked at the couple longingly as he kissed her cheek and did everything for her. It wasn't because he felt he had to; it was because he loved her. I looked at Connor and my smile fell. I didn't expect him to dote on me that way, but a little something every now and then would be appreciated. Instead, he plopped down on the nearest chair and looked at me with the same dull expression._

"_Get me a drink, babe," he ordered._

_I pursed my lips. I could tell him no. But I didn't want to cause a scene on Emily's big day. _

"_You could say please."_

_I turned to see Paul sitting next to Connor. I glared at him. Over the years, we had kept in touch only because we had to. He was friends with both Sam and Seth, which meant I had to see him almost every time I went to visit Leah or Emily. He wasn't much nicer to me than he had been that first time at the beach. He wasn't really rude, either. Not like Connor. He didn't order me around or tell me I was worthless. He did insult me, though. A lot. Silly things like telling me my hair made me look like a poodle or that my eyes were too big to be real. They were anime eyes, he said. My legs were too long, my skin too pale, my waist too thin . . . I just couldn't do anything to please him. Not that I ever actually wanted to, but it still upset me when he did his best to make me feel like crap._

_Connor looked at Paul. "You could mind your own business."_

_Paul shrugged. "I could, but why would I want to when I could piss you off instead?"_

_I rolled my eyes and walked away to get Connor's drink. I handed it to him when I came back. He stared at the cup for a second before he looked up at me. "What is this?" he asked._

"_A drink. It's all they have over there." _

_He sighed, obviously not happy that I wasn't able to produce a beer or something more exciting than fruit punch. I tried to ignore it and started looking for something to do._

"_What? You're not even going to say thank you?" Paul asked incredulously._

"_Mind your own damn business," Connor snapped._

_Paul stood up, and for a moment I was really afraid he was going to do something stupid. Paul was known for being spontaneously provoked by something insignificant. I reached out and grabbed his arm._

"_Hey, it's okay. Leave it alone. Come on." I tugged his arm to get him to come with me. He sighed and followed me toward the balcony. "What the hell was that?" I asked._

_He looked at me like I was stupid. "That was your so-called boyfriend treating you like a maid. Why do you put up with that?"_

_I didn't know how to answer him. I looked down. The truth was that I had gotten involved with Connor almost a year ago when he was sweet and kind and everything I thought I wanted. It wasn't until after he talked me into sleeping together two months ago that he started acting like a jerk. A part of me felt obligated to stay with him simply because I'd given him my virginity._

_Paul sighed. "Nessie, you deserve so much better than him."_

_I shook my head. "No, I don't."_

_He put one hand on my shoulder for a moment before his big hand wrapped around my upper arm and he urged me closer to the railing. We weren't the only ones out here. He leaned down, resting his elbow on the top of the concrete railing. He looked at me with a strange look in his eyes. I found it hard to keep eye contact. Only Leah knew about what I'd done with Connor, but not a day went by that I wasn't ashamed of it._

"_I know about what happened," he said. _

_My eyes widened. "What do you mean?" I tried to act innocent._

_He laughed. "Don't play stupid, Ness. I know how smart you are. Did you think he wouldn't tell anyone? He probably told everyone he knew."_

_I felt sick to my stomach. My eyes watered. That probably meant that my parents knew or would find out very soon. What was I going to do? Paul touched my cheek._

"_Hey, don't cry. You don't want to smear that pretty makeup, do you?"_

_I furrowed my brow. Had Paul just called me pretty? I realized that he'd complimented me twice. What universe was I in right now? "I don't care about my makeup."_

_He pulled me into a hug. Maybe it was the fact that my boyfriend was a total jackass, or maybe I just really needed a hug a lot more than I thought I did, but Paul's arms around me felt so good. I pushed myself into his chest and sniffled. _

"_Don't get my shirt dirty," he whispered._

_I couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling up out of my chest. I pulled back and wiped my eyes. "You jerk," I teased._

_He shrugged and held his arms out to his sides. "That's me." He put his arms down and his smile faded. "I'm serious, though, Ness, you need to get rid of that jackass. He's acting like he owns you. I can't tell you how much that pisses me off."_

"_Why do you even care? I'm not trying to be rude, Paul, but you've never liked me much." I turned to lean back against the railing and looked up at him. "I don't understand why you're making a big deal out of this." _

_He smirked and copied my position. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at me. "You girls are really slow sometimes, you know?"_

_I furrowed my brow. "See? You keep doing that. You insult me all the time."_

_He nodded. "Yeah, I do. Have you ever heard me insult someone I don't like?"_

_I thought about that for a minute. He had an interesting way of talking to people. The only people he didn't talk down to were his parents and people he didn't like. His parents got all of the respect while people he didn't like were ignored or punched. I hadn't ever thought of it like that before. And suddenly, I had an epiphany. If Paul insulted me every chance he got, then he must like me._

_I took another minute to look at him. A few years ago he'd gone through a tremendous growth spurt and was already a little over six feet tall at nineteen years old. He had a little stubble on his jaw but couldn't grow a full beard thanks to his Native American heritage. His hair was short and dark, and his eyes were always intense. He had the shortest temper of anyone I'd ever met and I'd personally seen his right hook knock a grown man out cold, but I knew in my gut he'd never hurt me._

_I licked my lips and looked down at the cement floor of the balcony. I was nervous in an instant. How was I supposed to proceed? Do I tell him that I think I like him, too? Do I pretend like this conversation never happened and go on with my life? My stomach felt hollow and my heart was doing dances in my chest._

"_So are you going to dump the slave master in there, or do I have to kick his ass?"_

_I cleared my throat and looked up at him. "I, um . . ." Why did I have this sudden desire to have him tell me to dump Connor just so he could be my boyfriend? "I don't know."_

_He nodded like he knew that was going to be my answer. Before I could do or say or think anything else, he leaned down and kissed me. Right on the lips. My eyes widened and I stood there frozen in shock until he pulled back._

"_Go tell him you found someone better," he said. "If he gives you any crap, tell him your new boyfriend will gladly discuss it with him."_

_Oh Lord. My knees nearly went weak. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I smiled to myself as I thought of something. "So now you're going to tell me what to do?" I asked teasingly._

_He looked stunned for a moment. His lips pursed. "No. I guess I just assumed that was what you wanted." He made a strange sound like a cross between a laugh and a huff. "Wow. I'm sorry, Ness."_

_I shook my head and reached out to grab his arm before he could walk away from me. "No, it's okay. It really is." He looked at me skeptically. "That is what I wanted; I just thought it was funny that you . . . y'know . . . Never mind." _

_He smiled a relieved smile and touched my cheek. "Then I'll ask nicely. Please go tell him to leave you alone before I have to hurt him."_

_I smiled brightly and nodded. "I will." _

"_Aw, aren't you two just the cutest together?" Leah asked. She came out on the balcony with camera in hand. "Look happy and say cheese."_

"So when did you marry him?" Mina asked. I had left out a few details that I thought were a little too old for her when telling Mina the story, but she got the gist of it.

"That comes a bit later." I flipped the page and smiled at the picture. "This is your mother when she met your dad." Leah and Trevor were bickering in the picture, something they still did. I was sure it was the thing that brought them together. She'd been working at a hardware store in Forks when Trevor came in to get some things to build a fort for his younger brother. She told him that what he was going to get was all wrong and showed him what he really needed. It had started more than just their first argument. They were dating within a week and had been inseparable since.

We went through the rest of the first scrapbook and talked about mine and Paul's first date. It had been an interesting time, to say the least. He'd taken me to see an action film that had a lot of blood and guts and then expected me to be able to eat afterward. He had laughed at me when I told him the ketchup reminded me of all the blood. He then proceeded to mix it with the cottage cheese and said it looked like bloody vomit. He'd laughed even harder when I tried not to gag.

When we were finished looking through the first scrapbook, Mina hopped off my lap to put it away and got the second one. She climbed up carefully to take her spot from before. The first picture in this album was her mother's wedding. I told her about it and how beautiful Leah had been in her shimmery white dress. Unlike me, Leah had saved the big moment for after her wedding. Trevor had been one of the most handsome men in his tux. He wasn't really the type of man I had once thought Leah would like, but they fit together so well. He was blond and a little shorter than most of the guys on the reservation where she grew up, but he was nice, polite, and just as stubborn as she was.

Mina asked a lot of questions when I got the pictures of Leah during her pregnancy. I didn't feel right answering her more specific questions about how exactly babies are made, so I told her to talk to her mother about that. I hugged her tightly when we got to the page that chronicled her birth. Mina had been such a tiny baby, weighing only five pounds two ounces, but she was the prettiest baby I'd ever seen. The picture of me holding her in the hospital was one of my favorites. Paul sat next to me and we both looked at the little girl like she was our own daughter. I had joked to Leah that we were going to take her home. Seeing the picture again made my eyes water.

Shortly after that, we finally arrived at the section Mina had asked me about. The page was white and had the strand of pearls I'd worn in a baggie taped to the page. The strand had broken before the night was over, but I couldn't make myself get rid of it. The first picture was me in an off-white dress that had made me feel like nothing short of royalty. It had a tight bodice that hugged my figure and a large, poofy skirt that went all the way to the floor. Paul wasn't in that picture, but he'd dressed in the most handsome tuxedo.

"This is your wedding, right?" she asked.

I nodded and wiped my eyes. "Yes, it is."

"Tell me about it, Aunt Nessie."

I sucked in a deep breath to try to stabilize my emotions, then I kissed her head. "Okay, honey."

_I was nervous as they say all brides are on their big day. I couldn't count how many times I'd wondered if Paul was having second thoughts. I was only the third girl he'd ever dated. Didn't guys usually like to shop around before settling on a life partner? His proposal had been very Paul: quick and to the point. He'd taken me to the movie theater where we'd had our first date, only that time we were watching a romance movie we'd both seen before. When the man in the movie asked his girl to marry him, Paul asked the question at the same time. At first, I thought he was just being sentimental and saying the lines of the movie, but it didn't take more than a second to realize that Paul didn't do that. He wasn't a touchy-feely, sentimental kind of guy. When I looked up at him, he kissed me and asked again. My answer was only a nod, but I knew that was all he needed. He'd taken my hand and slipped the ring on, and we finished watching the movie together._

_Everyone in my family had been so excited to hear of our engagement. My mom, my aunts, and Leah and Emily had all gotten involved in the planning somehow. It had all been a dream of perfection. Now that the day had actually arrived, I was scared._

_Mom came in the room a few minutes later to help me with a few last-minute touch-ups before I was to meet my groom at the altar._

"_Have you seen Paul?" I asked._

_Mom smiled and shook her head. "No, but your father has. I'm sure he's just as excited as you are."_

_I wasn't so sure. I tried not to vomit when Leah came in and told us that everyone was ready. Dad was waiting for me just outside the chapel. I took his hand and squeezed hard._

"_How is Paul?" I asked. I sounded a little desperate._

_Dad smiled and patted my hand over the bouquet. "You don't need to worry, honey. Paul is nervous, just like you, but he's happy this day is finally here."_

_I sighed a breath of relief, but I knew I wouldn't really feel better until I was standing beside him with my hands in his. The doors opened, and I saw him standing at the end of the aisle. His hands were folded in front of him and he stared at the floor for a few seconds._

_And then he looked up. In that instant when he met my eyes, his whole body changed. He stood up straighter and let his hands fall to his sides. The look on his face changed from pensive to an expression of pure love that made my stomach flutter. His eyes softened and his lips parted. He looked awe-struck, as if he'd just seen the most beautiful thing in the world. It brought tears to my eyes to know that it was me._

_When we reached the altar, Dad put my hands in Paul's. Paul squeezed my fingers lightly and smiled at me._

"_I love you," he mouthed._

_I licked my lips to keep them from quivering and mouthed it back. I squeaked a little in the process which made him smirk._

_I stared at Paul through the whole procession. Every word out of the preacher's mouth was perfect. My voice shook as I said my vows. I couldn't stop the tears of joy at hearing Paul say his. We each said "I do" and managed to put our rings on each other. I could hardly believe I was no longer Renesmee Cullen. From this point forward, I was Renesmee Lahote. When we shared our kiss, it was deep and promising and perfect._

_As we walked out of the church, we ducked to avoid the rice people were throwing at us. Paul opened the car door for me and slipped in beside me. My dress was a little difficult to maneuver around, but we managed to get it out of the way so we could hold each other._

"_I love you, my wife," he said with a grin._

"_I love you, too, my husband." Holy cow, it felt so good to say that._

_He kissed me again. "A little bird told me you were nervous I was having cold feet earlier."_

_I blushed and looked down. "I was."_

_He made me look at him. "I was, too. I mean, nervous that you were. I'm glad you weren't."_

_I smiled brightly. "I'm so happy, Paul."_

"_I am, too."_

_The reception was held at my grandparents' mansion in Forks. After all the dancing, cake, and wine, both Paul and I were smashed and so ready for our wedding night. We spent the whole night in each other's arms, showing each other over and over again just how in love we really were._

I blushed and looked down at Mina. Again, I'd left out the details I thought she was too young to hear. She smiled at me. "Was I there?"

I nodded. "Yes, but you were barely two years old."

We went through the rest of the scrapbook and talked about all of the different pictures. She was happy to see that I'd included her birthdays. When we closed the second book, she leaned in to me and hugged me tightly.

"I love you, Aunt Nessie."

I smiled and kissed her head, hugging her back just as tightly. "I love you, too, Mina."

She put the book back just as the door opened. I turned to see Leah followed closely by Trevor and Paul. I smiled brightly. I hadn't expected him to be home until much later. He came up to me and pulled me off the chair. My stomach was huge; our baby would undoubtedly be born before the New Year. He kissed me and helped me waddle to the living room so I could sit with everyone else.

"I thought you had to work late today," I said after he sat next to me.

He nodded. "I was supposed to, but then I decided I'd rather be here with you. I told the boss I was leaving because you needed me here. He was okay with that."

I leaned in and nuzzled my face against his shoulder. We'd gotten lucky with Paul's boss. He was a family man who knew how important it was to help out a pregnant lady. "I'm glad to hear it."

As we sat there talking and laughing, I thought about all the memories I'd shared with Mina that day. The lights on the tree twinkled and danced, and the newly placed presents under it gave the whole room a warm, cozy feeling. There was no doubt I'd lived a charmed life. I had to be one of the luckiest women in the world. I put my hand over my stomach when Paul Jr.—we hadn't picked out an official name yet for our baby boy—kicked me extra hard. Without a word, Paul put his hand where I'd felt the kick and rubbed gently.

I looked over at Mina sitting on Trevor's lap and playing with her mom's phone and decided I needed to start scrapbooking again. All of these memories, whether big and important or small and fleeting, should be cherished forever.

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A/N: Thanks so much for reading!


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